Loose reed for looms



Sept. 12, 1933. E. .R. HOLMES LOOSE REED FOR LOOMS Filed June 11. 1931 I=9nxfentor' (ilbridge R. Holmes Qttp neqs Patented Sept. 12, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OF-FIKIE LOOSE REED FOR LOOMS Application June 11, 1931.Serial No. 543,624

7 Claims.

' This invention relates to improvements in loose reeds for looms and itis the general object of the invention to provide an improved structureof this kind wherein the beat of the reed may be conveniently andaccurately determined.

In the manufacture of certain fabrics such as light silk it is desirableto have a reed which will give a very light beat to the weft so thatmarks in the cloth willnot appear due to any unevenness which may existin the feeding of the warp from the let-ofi motion. It has been proposedheretofore to employ loose reeds but they have ordinarily been actedupon either by fixed parts which cannot easily be changed or the mannerof their adjustment has not permitted a wide range in the force of theblow of beat-up. Furthermore, in existing loose reeds of certain typesit is necessary to provide some form of lock for the reed while theshuttle is in flight. It is an important object of my present inventionto provide a reed structure which is so mounted that the part of thereed wires which engage the weftduring beatup is normally acted upon bya force tending to move it rearwardly from the fell. This may beaccomplished by having a reed structure the top part of which isoverbalanced and acts by its inertia to move the bottom of the reedbackwardly as the lay comes to rest momentarily in its forward motionwhen beating up 'the weft. With such a reed the momentum of the upperpart of the movable structure tends during the backward stroke of thelay to hold the reed in forward position, thereby bracing the shuttle.

It is a further object of my invention to couple with the over-balancedreed structure additional means which can be made to oppose a variableyielding force to the reed so that the tendency for the reed to moverearwardly at the time of beat-up may be altered. The variable featureof a yieldable force is desirable because of the fact that the reeds arenot all of the same weight nor do they necessarily occupy the sameposition with respect to the axis around which the reed structureoscillates. .Certain grades of cloth require a reed having'a relativelylarge number of reed wires to the inch and the requisite strength isobtained by increasing the depth of the reed wires, whereas in otherinstances the cloth being woven calls for a rather coarse reed theweight of which is substantially less than that of the other typementioned. Furthermore, a loom is ordinarily built so that it may takereeds produced by different manufacturers so that ordinarily if a reedstructure is designed for a given reed there is no assurance that thesame conditions will necessarily exist when other reeds are used. Byhaving an easily altered yielding mechanism positioned to resist thetendency of the reed to 'move rearwardly at beat up it is possible tocompensate for these variations arising from the different types ofreed. t

It is to be noted that during the'backward mo tion of the lay theseyielding devices exert their energy in direction to hold the reed inproper shuttle guiding position. During beat-up, therefore, the reed isacted upon by the difference of two separate and independent forces,while during shuttle flight these forces are added to brace the reed.This desirable result is accomplished by the motion of the lay togetherwith lay carried. yielding devices, and there is no necessity forcontact with a stationary part.

It is another object of my present invention to provide a pivoted reedstructure the center of gravity of which is not only above but also infront of the pivot so that the weight of the superstructure above thereed as well as its momentum will'act to move the fell engaging part ofthe reed rearwardly.

It isanother object of my'present invention to v8V0 though notnecessarily being combined with '35 means for varying the previouslymentioned resistance which is offered to the rearward movement of thereed. This relation is desirable because when the reed is raised orlowered in the reed structure the condition of non-balance is changedand it is desirable that some means be provided for its restoration.

Another object of the invention relates to the irregular feeding of thesilk warp. The latter is I usually wound on paper and not confinedbetween limiting flanges or heads, with the result that the warp is notnecessarily wrapped one layer directly over the other. The lateralposition of the warp in the loom may vary enough to cause undesirablewearing on the reed if the latter be fixed. One feature of my inventioncontemplates the provision of a sliding mounting for the reed structure,preferably at the pivotal. mounting, to compensate for the lateral shiftof the warp.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth venientembodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a lay having my improved form ofreed applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of one end of the lay and the reed looking inthe direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view similar to a portion of Fig. 1, but on areduced scale, showing the action of the reed at the time of beat-up,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the lay moving in a rearwarddirection, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic rear elevation showing the mounting for thereed structure whereby the latter is movable laterally relatively to thelay.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a lay v10 mounted on a lay sword11 and having a lay end 12. The lay has a race plate 13 and there mayextend from the front to rear of the lay a plurality of stop screws 14.one of which is shown in Fig. 1. The position of each screw isdetermined by a lock nut 15, and the screws serve 'to position a stopplate 16 which is located in a rabbet' 17 cut in the rear part of thelay beam. The stop has a horizontal extension 18 through whichextendsaseries of holding bolts 19 one of which is shown in Fig. 1. A verticalrear surface 20 on the stop may be moved backwardly or forwardly bymeans of the screws already described.

Each lay end has bolted thereto a stand car- ,ryinga pivotpin or stud 31which passes through a hub 32 of a pivot arm 33. The top of the latterextends over and is bolted to the horizontal cross head 34 of a T-shapedangle iron 35 having a front substantially vertical surface 36. A holder37 is held to the angle iron or steel by a series of bolts 38, one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 1. The vertical part of the holder is spaced fromthe surface 36by the thickness of the top rib 39 of the reed. The lowerrib 40 engages the rear surface 20 of the stop 16. As shown in Fig. 5the hub 32 is slidable as well as angularly movable with respect to thestuds 31.

In order tohold the lower rail against the stop 16 I provide a yieldinglever pivoted as at 51 to a stand 52 projecting downwardly from andsecured to the under sideof the lay. This lever is provided with aperforated finger 53 through vwhich extendsa bolt 54. The head ofthelatter is in engagement with the back of the finger 53 and. saidboltis surrounded by a compression spring 55 located between a washer 56 onthe front of the bolt and an ear 57 formed; on the stand 52. The effectof the spring is to move the arm .50 and therefore they backstay 58rigid therewith toward the front of the loom. The backstay thus acts tohold the lower rib 40 against the stop 16, and it is to be noted that byaltering the nuts 59 on the bolt 54 the pressure of thespring 55 andtherefore the force exerted on thebottom rib 40 can be changed. I

.There is another adjustment which is possible in connection with lever50 and it is accomplished by making the stand 52 in two separate partsas suggested in Fig. 2 and securing them together by means of bolts 60.Slots 61 in one of the parts of the stand permit a vertical adjustmentof the pivot pin 51. It is to be noted that the ear 57 moves with thepin 51 during theseadjustments so that alignment of said ear with thebolt 54 may be preserved.

The vertical adjustment of' the lever 50 just described is rendereddesirablefro ntime to time when .moving the reed R vertically with,respect tothe lay. This movement can be effected by -.loosen s the bolt3 e dfi i s rai in 9 low ing the top rib 39, after which a correspondingadjustment can be made for the stud 51 and therefore the lever 50.

A second means for changing the vertical position of the reed is shownin Figs. 1 and 2, and consists of slots 65 in the upwardly extendingpart of the sword 12 through which bolts 66 pass. Nuts 6'7hold the boltsin place and the heads of the bolts clamp the foot 68 of the bearing 30in adjusted position on the lay. This mode of adjustment for the reeddoes not change the center of gravity of the reed structure relativelyto the axis 31.

An inspection of Fig. 1 will show that the greater part of the weight ofthe reed cap and hand rail 70 secured thereto lies above the axis '31,and as set forth herein also in front of said axis, although this latterrelation is not essential. The top rib 39 is clamped tightly between thesurface 36 and the holder 3'7 so that the reed is held rigidly withrespect to the T-shaped member 3%. During the forward movement of thelay the structure movable about axis 31 will attain a certain momentumand will tend to move forwardly after, the lay comes momentarily to restat the time of beat-up. The lay approaches its" temporary condition ofrest by a rather quick retardation of its movement, but the center ofgravity of the reed structure, being above the axis 31, tends to moveforwardly more quickly than the lay, so that there is an increasingtendency for the bottom of the reed to move rearwardly or to the rightto assume the position shown in Fig. 3. 1 This is due to the fact thatthe center of gravity of the reed structure and the fell of the clothlie on opposite sides of the axis 31. There is therefore a tendency forthe reed to lag behind the lay and give the weft W a blow the force ofwhich is less than what it would be if the reed were fastened rigidly tothe lay or were so mounted as to move at the same rate as does the lay.

By means of the lever 50 and parts associated therewith the tendency ofthe reed to lag behind the lay can be lessened depending upon thepressure exerted by springs 55 on the finger 53. If a considerableamount of lag on the part of the reed behind the lay is desired the nuts59 will be moved forwardly so that the spring 55 will exert a weak forceon the backstay.

58, but if, on the other hand, it is desired to have the reed movealmost at the same ratebf motion as the lay, then the nuts 59 can bemoved rearwardly on the bolt, thereby tighteningthe spring andincreasing the force which it exerts in opposition to the laggingtendency of the reed.

If the reed R be adjusted vertically as'suggested hereinbefore thespring 55 can be adjusted to compensate for the change in the center ofgravity of the reed structure. It is to be understood that the positionof the reed determines to some extent the center of gravity of the wholestructure movable about axis 31, and when the reed is raised the centeris also raised, so that the effective vertical distance from axis 31 isinency of the reed to move relatively to the lay and this can beche'cked by a variation in the upper part of the reed structure tends tomove rearwardly to hold the reed in relative forward position as shownin Fig. 4. During this part of the loom cycle the springs 55 aid themomentum of the reed structure so that the shuttle S is positioned bythe combined effort of momentum and spring pressure, and there is noneed for additional controls from stationary parts of the loom or thelike. The parts carried by the lay act of themselves on the front stroketo position the reed so it will respond to slight variations in theposition of the weft being beaten in, and on the back stroke these sameparts hold the reed tightly in place to guide the moving shuttle.

In Fig. 5 the reed structure is shown as located centrally between thelay ends 12, with a space between each hub 32 and its correspondingstand 30. It is possible for the reed to move to the right to theposition shown in light dotted lines in Fig. 5 if the warp should lie tothe right, or, if the warp should unwind so as to shift to the left, thereed can move to the position indicated in heavy dotted'lines. The pinsor studs 31 therefore act not only as pivotal mountings for the reed,but also to permit the latter to slide transversely of the loom. 7

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a lay structurewhich is so constructed and mounted as to give the fell engaging part ofthe reed a normal rearward movement at the time of beat-up. It willfurther be seen that the extent to which this rearward tendency to movecan affect the reed may be varied by the yieldable connection betweenlever 50 and the lay.

Also, it will be seen. that by loosening the cap 37 the reed may begiven several vertical settings so that when Worn in one place by theconstant beating-up of the weft the reed may be moved vertically topresent a new unworn surface to the fell of the cloth. Furthermore, theinertia of the reed structure braces the reed during the rearwardmovement of the lay to support the shuttle, and the reed is free toslide laterally on the pivot pins 31 to accommodate changing positionsof the warp.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a loom having a lay movable toward the fell of the cloth, a reedmounted for movement relatively to the lay, and weighted meansindependent of the fell effective by reason of the momentum thereofduring movement of the lay toward the fell to move that part of the reedopposite the fell relatively to the lay in a direction away from thefell.

2. In a loom having a laymovable forwardly toward the fell of the cloth,a reed on the lay movable relatively thereto, and weighted means carriedby and operative through momentum derived from the forward movement ofthe lay to move the reed rearwardly relatively to the lay as the latterapproaches the fell.

3. In a loom having a lay movable forwardly toward the fell of thecloth, a reed on the lay movable relatively thereto, and meanscomprising a suspended mass independent of the fell and operative byreason of and during the forward movement of the lay to cause that partof the reed opposite the fell to retard its forward movement at a rategreater than that at which the lay movement retards.

4. In a loom having a lay movable forwardly toward the fell of thecloth, a reed on the lay movable relatively thereto, means independentof the fell and operative during the forward movement of the lay tocause that part of the reed opposite the fell to retard its forwardmovement, at a rate greater than that at which the lay movement retards,and a yielding device opera tively connected to the reed to opposerearward relative movement of the reed with respect to the lay at thetime of beat-up.

In a loom having a lay movable toward and from the fell of the cloth andalong which a shuttlo moves, 'a reed movable relatively to the lay, andmeans operatively connected to the reed and moving with and movable withrespect to the lay and acting through movement of the lay to move thereed relatively to the lay away from the fell when the lay approachesthe fell and is adjacent thereto and toward the fell when the lay movesaway from the fell and is remote therefrom to cause the reed to-supportthe shuttle.

6. In a loom having a lay movable between two extreme positions oneadjacent and the other remote from the fell of the cloth and along whicha shuttle moves, a reed mounted on and movable relatively to the lay,and a weighted mass operatively connected to the reed and movablerelatively to the lay and acting during forward movement of the lay whenthe latter is adjacent the fell to move the reed relatively to the layaway from the fell, and acting when the lay is remote from the fell tomove the reed relatively to the lay toward the fell to cause the reed tosupport the shuttle.

'7. In a loom having a lay movable back and forth therein, a reedsupported by and movable with respect to the lay, and means to exertopposed yielding forces to the reed at the time of beat-up, the neteffect of the forces being to move the reed rearwardly with respect tothe lay.

. ELBRIDGE R. HOLMES.

